Girl, Interrupted [2000]

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Product Description ------------------- Two time O(r)-nominee Winona Ryder stars in the fascinating true story of a young woman's life-altering stay at a famous psychiatric hospital in the turbulent late 1960's. Questionably diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder, Susanna (Winona Ryder) rebels against the head nurse (Whoopi Goldberg) and top psychiatrist (Vanessa Redgrave), choosing instead to befriend the resident "loonies",a group of troubled women including the seductively charismatic sociopath Lisa (Angelina Jolie). But Susanna quickly learns if she wants her freedom, she'll have to face the person who terrifies her the most of all: herself. From .co.uk ----------- Based on Susanna Kaysen's accled journal-memoir, Girl, Interrupted ( /exec/obidos/ASIN/1860497926/%24%7B0%7D ) bears an inevitable resemblance to One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and pale comparison to that earlier classic is impossible to avoid. The mental institution settings of both films guarantee a certain degree of déjà vu and at least one O winner (in this case, Angelina Jolie), since playing a loony is any actor's dream gig. Unfortunately, director James Mangold seems to have misplaced the depth and delicacy of his underrated debut, Heavy, despite a great deal of earnest effort by everyone involved. It's easy to see why Winona Ryder chose to star in (and executive-produce) this almost worthy adaptation of Kaysen's book, since it's a strong vehicle for female casting and potent drama. Mangold certainly got the former; whether he succeeded with the latter is not so clear. To be sure, Ryder conveys the confusion and chaos that signified Kaysen's life during nearly 18 months of voluntary institutionalisation beginning in 1967. But the film seems too eager to embrace the cliché that the "crazies" of the Claymoore women's ward are saner than the war-torn world outside, and lack of narrative focus gives way to a semi-predictable character study. Susanna (Ryder) is labeled with "borderline personality disorder," a diagnosis as ambiguous as her own emotions, and while Jolie chews the scenery as the resident bad-girl sociopath, Ryder effectively conveys an odyssey from vulnerable fear to self-awareness and, finally, to healing. The ensemble cast is uniformly superb, making this drama well worthwhile, even as it treads familiar territory. If it ultimately lacks dramatic impact, Girl, Interrupted makes it painfully clear that the boundaries of dysfunction are hazy in a world where everyone's crazy once in a while. --Jeff Shannon, .com P.when('A').execute(function(A) { A.on('a:expander:toggle_description:toggle:collapse', function(data) { window.scroll(0, data.expander.$expander[0].offsetTop-100); }); }); From the Back Cover ------------------- Two time O nominee Winona Ryder stars in this moving and inspirational film based on a true story about one womans experience inside a psychiatric hospital. Questionably diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, Susanna (Ryder) rebels against the head nurse (Whoopi Goldberg) and top psychiatrist (Vanessa Radgrave), choosing instead to befriend her fellow inmates - a group of troubled young women, in particular the seductively charismatic sociopath, Lisa a force to be reckoned with, played by O winning actress Angelina Jolie. Susanna resolves to recl her freedom, but first she'll have to face the person who terrifies her the most.......herself. See more ( javascript:void(0) )